Holiday Inn Express Grover Beach-Pismo Beach Area

Unlike many Holiday Inn Express hotels this is an older property. Rooms are spacious but starting to show their age. Pool is tucked in an inconvenient corner of the property but… once you’re there it’s beautiful little palm oasis.

5 mins from Grover beach and Pismo pier. Stayed for two nights. Nice clean room. Spacious. Comfy bed. We didn’t have a do not disturb sign so after the first night they came in and fixed up and re stocked items which was nice either way. Pool was nice and was actually heated unlike other pools that’s are still cold. Jacuzzi was nice and relaxing. Breakfast had many options to choose from. Over all great stay.

This hotel was definitely not worth the $ 190 we spent for 1 night. There was chipped paint, old furniture, and stinky air. Outdated everything, except the t. v! The tub had pube hairs around the side of it, yuck! The staff who worked late on 3÷35÷16 were unprofessional and has no idea about basic customer service. The stars are for the pool area which was peaceful and clean except for a few bandaids. The breakfast staff were friendly and welcoming.

This hotel needs some serious remodeling! It’s very outdated with chipped paint, dirty looking carpet, and ugly furniture. The only things I liked about this place was the comfy bed and pretty decent free breakfast.
I arrived around 1am last night after a long 5 hour drive. I just wanted to check in, go to my room, and pass out. The guy working the desk gave me a hard time about checking in after midnight because it was technically the next day so he had to «check to make sure they hadn’t given away our room yet.» It was very annoying to get nagged after a long drive but I just sucked it up and waited patiently. After about a 10 minute check in, I was finally given the key to a room.
My husband and I got all of our luggage and belongings from the car and hauled it to our room. When we got to the room, I was disappointed to see that they gave us a dirty room! The bed wasn’t made and there were towels on the bathroom floor. Tired and frustrated, I had to haul our luggage down to the hotel lobby to get another room. When we finally got to our new room, I was even more exhausted from the inconvenient check in process. Get it together front desk!!! Like I said, the room is very unimpressive and outdated. I wouldn’t stay here again.

The room was really cold! Definitely bundle up, as they left the front doors open all night.
The beds were comfy, featuring nice & thick blankets that kept his comfortably cool and sound asleep throughout the night.
Our coffee machine was dirty, but nay! Their quick room service brother us a new one within minutes.
Complimentary breakfast was VERY delicious! Stuffed eggs, turkey & pork sausage, English muffins, milk, coffee, oatmeal… I could go on. The turkey sausage & the stuffed egg is a must try!
Overall pleasant experience. It’s within quick access to the Monarch Butterfly Grove & the beach behind it (great for finding near rocks or seashells). Great rates & friendly service.

This isn’t a beachfront hotel (not a negative — just saying). Most Holiday Inn Express motels are located close to a freeway on-​ramp… hence the «Express». Getting on-​and-​off Oak Park can be a challenge, but there’s easy access to so much from this location.
This is an older hotel, but it’s not exactly ancient and still shows well. The separate buildings give the impression of a smaller, more intimate motel. I’ve stayed here three times and, while the rooms could use an update, they were fairly well maintained and the housekeeping was acceptable.
I thought it odd that the outer security doors were open at night. But I did think this was one of the safer locations in Grover Beach, so I wasn’t terribly concerned.
Technology is a weak point at this property. The WiFi is super slow, the cable TV was so bad it’s essentially useless and I had to repair the computer in the lobby to print a letter. But I got to see the itineraries, agendas and pre-​boarding-​tickets that the five previous users were trying to print ;-).
The front desk clerks were uniformly pleasant and helpful. On two visits, housekeeping staff were taking their break at the tables located just outside the doors to the buildings. This may be picky, but this wouldn’t be acceptable at most nicer hotels.
The Pismo Beach area is a pretty pricey tourist area, where Motel 6 is $ 89 a night on a summer weekend. In November, I got a mid-​week rate on Priceline of $ 91 (including tax), which I thought was pretty good for the area. Based on their technology issues, I’d call this a 3−½-star experience, but added a half star to compensate for the reviewers who deducted because the mini-​frig was on the floor or because leafs blew into the hot tub.

Worst hotel experience of my life. First of all it was dirty, there was a Walmart receipt in my bed sheets, we found food on the floors (dirty pork rind), mold in the bathroom, and spiders on the ceilings. To top it off some crazy man tried to forcefully brake into our room. In conclusion we had to call the police. Over all very poor experience… Very disappointing and wouldn’t recommend it. On the plus side the free breakfast was alright and they had many options.

This place needs to be remodeled. It felt like we were staying at our grandparents house. The fridge was on the floor so we had to bend down everytime we needed something, pretty crappy for someone with back problems. There was no microwave in the room.
The only reason i gave it 2 stars was for the pool. My son had a blast there and it was tucked away and private so it was nice.
With all that being said, we prob won’t be returning to this holiday inn

We weren’t able to find a beach house in time for our stay at Pismo Beach, but this Holiday Inn wasn’t too far from our ATV rentals and attractions!
Our connected double-​bed rooms seemed relatively clean and was quite comfy. We had no problems with our stay, the appliances worked and everything went smooth.
Employees are really helpful, some of us realized in the middle of the night that we forgot our toothbrush. It was midnight and there was someone at the front desk who offered toothbrushes, razors etc. That’s always nice.
Convenient location to stay since it is in the middle of the attractions of SLO!

My girlfriends and I really enjoyed our stay here for our Girls Labor Day SLO trip.
THE GOOD:
+ EMPLOYEES — All the workers were very helpful, nice and pleasant. We called the Front Desk on two occasions, once for more towels and the second time for more shampoo/​conditioner. The people on the phone didn’t give us any attitude, and had people deliver them to our room right away!
+ PARKING — Plenty of parking
+ LOCATION — It was convenient for our trip. We planned ATVing at Grover/​Pismo beach, and it was about a 6 minute drive from the hotel. We also wanted to check out downtown SLO for the night life. That was about a 20min drive from the hotel.
+ BREAKFAST — OMG. Tops my list of best breakfast ever provided at any hotel I’ve stayed at! (Granted the list is only 3 hotels deep) Initially disappointed they don’t have a waffle maker, but they have a PANCAKE maker aka the pancake printer. Very cool to watch. But they had a HUGE assortment of food including yogurt (chobani, yoplait, activia, even oikos), milk, instant oatmeal, toast, bagels, english muffins, the HOT FOOD (omelette with cheese, ham/​turkey sausage (Day 1), ham/​bacon (Day 2), gravy and biscuits, and hot cinnamon rolls) Really, with 2 meats present at each breakfast I was impressed.
+ ROOM — It was clean, it was comfortable. It came with a mini fridge. It was a bit difficult to get the remote to register with the reader box on the TV, but it was manageable.
THE MEH/​BAD:
— Nothing. Maybe we lucked out with great neighbors, but nothing really disturbed our time here.
— ATMOSPHERE: It’s not bad. It was just kind of MEH. Not the most modern/​updated place, but it was clean and it got the job done.
Would definitely be back if I ever plan to ATV at Pismo Beach again!

First time staying in Grover Beach. Wanted to stay in Pismo Beach but the prices were too high. I showed up here around 11:20pm. I was super tired from the long day and driving all day. I passed up the place because their sign wasn’t working. When I checked in, I had told the front desk guy that I passed up their place because their lights weren’t working on their sign. He said that he’s been telling them for years to fix it.
HOLIDAY INN: please make note to fix your sign so it makes it easier for us to find you.
The front desk guy was super friendly. He had told me where to go and all. I get back in my car to park my car and I’m driving around to find parking. All the spots were taken. I was just about to drive back and complain about the parking. But then I saw this one person pull out of a parking spot.
I wish they had more parking spots. Or walk around to see who should be parked there or not.
Our room was nice and big. Bed was comfortable. Wasn’t able to try the free breakfast because I slept in. The front desk guy from last night did tell me about a cool place to eat at. Other than that, we enjoyed out stay.

I came for business travel and I never stayed at an Holiday Inn Express. It was centrally located for my work and enjoyed my stay. The staff go over and beyond what I needed or requested, they helped with all my questions and If I need directions they took out a map and spent the time to help show locations, that being said, they had the time as no one was checking in or out.
My room was spacious, however they are outdated a bit but very clean and it was okay with me because I can open a window for fresh coastal breezes during the night and that equals a great nights rest. The breakfast is amazing and they have automatic Pancake maker, press a button and Voila! Pancakes (2)! perfectly cooked, the great assortment for everyone on weight control or just get a pancake stack with sausage, well done Holiday Inn Express!
House Keeping– An amazing staff of personal Bertha was my house keeper so sweet and polite and always a smile The lady who took charge of the breakfast so nice and accommodating I wanted scramble eggs and she got it done for me. The grounds keepers so polite they saw me struggling with luggage and ran over to help, imagine that!
I had no broken appliances in my room, but hey if you want a 5 Star hotel buy all means you will get what you want and Plus! this is a nice hotel for the price, its summer so rates are a little higher, I had no trouble with noise but the sound of children are natural.
Michelle and Sam front desk are two hard working very focused on your needs, answers all your questions, and its yours for the asking!
I will be coming back as this is my hotel of choice when traveling on business as I felt safe my room faced the office, and I liked that, I will stay here even for a brief get away, I love everyone here such nice people. Will always greet you with a smile…

I stayed at this Holiday Inn Express and instead of making me smarter, it made me feel dumber for having shelled out so much coin for a substandard stay.
Really doesn’t measure up to Holiday Inn Express standards.
We’ll start with the good, and then work our way down.
THE GOOD:
Breakfast.
THE BAD
Broken appliances in room Not even the remote worked. AC out, fridge not cold enough to be of service.
Noisy stay. Someone drove through the lot and honked a LOT, worse yet, Mexican employees all over that place jabbering loudly, outside, in halls, etc. Holiday Inn, don’t even play the race card. I’m simply stating a fact, almost all the employees are Mexican which is neither good nor bad, but when they behave unprofessionally as they did, it’s a detriment to your business and your customers.
But the most noise came from the local teachers union on strike on the corner. They had signs proclaiming, «HONK FOR TEACHERS», and wow, honk they did. EVERY MORNING. From 7 – 8 AM. We stayed five days, it was every day.
Bad service. Room sign says, «don’t take towels to pool! They’re at the pool!» Guess what? None at the pool. We went to the front desk to get towels for pool, and there was no one there. Literally waited 15 minutes, last five minutes out of morbid curiosity to see how long it would take. I mean, it’s the front desk of a fair sized hotel. What if people were checking in? or out? Finally after 15 minutes an unapologetic clerk named «Carlos» shows up, finally got towels.
Speaking of Carlos, three times during our stay he abandoned his post at the front desk to harass us at the pool. «Are you staying here?» Yes, I replied. «What’s your name and room number?» Good grief, I’ve got a room key with me. The second time was two days later, same gestapo questioning. The third time he did it was ridiculous. DON’T YOU RECOGNIZE US? WE’VE BEEN HERE FIVE DAYS. My wife swears the 3^rd time he did it just to screw with us. Hey Carlos! Maybe you should be manning the front desk instead of sweating who’s at the pool! (We were the only ones at the pool all three times).
Between the dilapidated property, broken appliances, overpriced room, rude treatment, poor service and Carlos, I’d say SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! Hilton Gardens a half mile away is a truly nice experience for the same money, which is where we are booked next. You couldn’t drag me back to Holiday Inn Express in Grover Beach.

we got a really great deal on this room for one night with Hot Wire. We were even upgraded because we were on our 15^th wedding annv. They gave us a king size bed with a fire place in the room.
The free breakfast was really very good. They had pretty close to everything, fresh and ready to go.
The staff was very nice.
The TV cable was not very good but we would stay again!

Great indep. owned Holiday Inn. We chose this hotel for the beach (10 minute or less drive.) It was a bonus that they had a pretty good breakfast spread in the AM, cookies and coffee/​tea/​hot cocoa in the PM, and a super cool fridge that refroze our cooler blocks every night. For no frills– I think the service at the front desk combined with the little extras made this hotel an easy stay.
I know you can’t choose your neighbors, so this review is not about them, but how they were handled by the staff. The neighbors were having a yelling and tantrum-​throwing domestic dispute about the AC— the woman was so hysterical, I was ready to call the cops! (They must have been partying — but I was still concerned about their safety.) After an hour, we called the front desk (which took a couple tries) and personnel made a welfare check. I don’t think we were the only ones who called about them… After that, it was completely quiet! Thanks for coming to our rescue, front desk! :)
Overall, thanks for a decent stay, decent coffee and help when we needed it. We would stay here again, and would recommend it to family members who travel the coastal beaches frequently.

Horrible place to stay, especially for the cost. The cable wouldn’t work and even after they came in the remote stopped working. Then trying to connect to the Internet was a pain in the butt. Once you et connected not all the websites were «authorized» websites. Not only that but the connection was very slow.
Next we had to request more towels from the front since they only gave us two towels.
I would not recommend this location to anyone.

This was a layover stay, before we head to Carmel, CA.
I’m extremely HAPPY with Holiday Inn Express, especially Grover Beach, Ca.
We arrived way before the official Check In time, and management was very accommodating in allowing this
The Staff is Very Friendly, The Rooms Excellent and The Jacuzzi Nice.
For what you pay it meets and exceeds your needs.
I actually forgot my razor, and the hotel provided one for me.
Amazing deals can be found thru AAA or Motels​.Com

Staff was great. Everyone from the front desk to housekeeping to grounds crew. Property is older but the rooms are updated pretty well. Ice machine on our floor was out of order. Rooms facing the highway (one block away) can be loud even with the sliding glass door to the balcony closed.
Location is great as it is close to highway access, restaurants on Grand Ave, entrance to Oceano Dunes, as well as Ross for last minute stuff in case you forgot to pack it.
Pool was heated but had a lot of debris from the wind blowing stuff into it.

Was staying here while doing business in the region. My company put me here and like other Holiday Inn Express’ its a comfortable stay every time. Check-​in was quick and easy, was in my room in a matter of minutes. Was given a ground floor room that was clean and had a very comfortable bed. I wasn’t too keen on being located near the elevator but I didn’t hear it very often even though it made a ton of noise while riding it.
The location is great, right off Highway 101 next to a restaurant, brewery, and coffee shop. There is plenty of parking even though some of the restaurant patrons used the hotel’s parking lot. Only minutes away form the beach, shops, and other touristy spots.
Only problem was the AC working off-​and-​on. Not a huge issue but had it been warmer, it could’ve. I’m sure they’ll fix it. Try the ManRock brewery around the corner, it’s great. I hear A.J. Spurs is pretty good too.

We stay at Holiday Inns frequently and have great stays… usually. Sadly, this hotel was not the case.
We’ll start with the positives:
We are Priority Club members and received courteous treatment initially when booking our reservations. We were given a free upgrade to a fireplace room. Nice.
We checked in about 4pm and enjoyed some warm, yummy chocolate chunk cookies. What a great welcome!
Breakfast was an added convenience. The tables were clean and the oatmeal and cinnamon rolls the best part. Coffee good! Sadly, the eggs were tasteless and the turkey sausage rubbery.
A 10% discount coupon for A.J. Spurs was great. An amazing meal!
Now for the negatives:
The hotel is in need of upgrades. Some wall paper peeling off. The elevator jerks, thumps, and rumbles every time!
The walk to the swimming pool/​jacuzzi is inconvenient and a little creepy. The gate is broken and the landscape full of weeds. Oh, and the waterfall is quite the picture!
The fireplace room was a nice free upgrade. However, the fireplace only stays on for about 10 minutes. Possibly this is for safety reasons.
Traffic very loud.
Most importantly, the hotel doors were unlocked and propped open throughout the day and evening. We came and went day and night and never once had to use our key card to get into the hotel building. When we questioned the day manager about the safety and security of the building, she told us she opened the doors herself as a convenience to the guests. When we told her our concern about safety and if any guests have ever been violated due to lack of security measures, she answered, «Absolutely not! This is Grover!». To prop the hotel doors open or to leave them unlocked could lead to staff or hotel guests being assaulted, robbed, or victimized. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. We will never stay here again.
We look forward to the next Holiday Inn with the quality stay we have come to expect.